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culture

Notes from The Black and Latino Males in High School Forum

by Jose on December 3, 2009 · 3 comments

in life

Black Male Student and Teacher Writing on Blackboard

Black Male Student and Teacher Writing on Blackboard

On November 24th, 2009 at around 9am, I had the distinct pleasure of going to the NYU Metropolitan Center Policy for Urban Education Educational Forum. The topic was “How are Black and Latino males faring in our high schools?” hosted and moderated by Dr. Pedro Noguera, professor in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University and Executive Director of the Metro Center and the co-Director of the Institute for the study of Globalization and Education in Metropolitan Settings (IGEMS). As you can expect, the tension in the air was a bit palpable, because we truly wanted to see just how desperate the situation is with them, but also because we wanted to see whether they’d get to the heart of the matter or simply skim over the finer parts with no real discussion.

Here are some of my bullet points (and for those in NYC, I may share more of my notes on ARIS and also by request)

- FIrst, it’s easy to forget that the plight of males in education doesn’t just extend to Black and Latino males, though it’s most severe in those cases. The lack of male participation in education is really disappointing except in a very small select group of privileged boys who “eventually run the country.” (quoted from Dean Mary Brabeck) In a related point, David Banks, founder of the Eagle Academy for Young Men School and founder of One Hundred Black Men Inc., said, “Black and Latino kids need the same thing everybody else needs, but you’d think that we were talking about another species.” It made me think about the proportion of positive and reaffirming energies we give to our children relative to the energy we give to other people’s children.

- Dr. Pedro Noguera likened his affinity for public schools to the New York Knicks saying, “Even though it’s hard to be a fan of the Knicks, I still support them” to a rousing laugh. He was quick to mention that NYC has a higher rate of high-performing high-poverty schools than any other place of its kind, but there’s also a disproportionate amount of Black / Latino makes not succeeding. We know the consequences of “dropping out” are serious and have to understand the implications of failure.

- Ben Meade, research associate for the Metro Center, then presented the statistics for us. To go more in depth, please check this link. I’ll go over some of these in brief:

  • Black and Latino male dropouts tend to be overage.
  • A large portion of those males stayed 3 years, but eventually dropped out.
  • The males also repeated grades often (the data takes into account boys who graduate in 4, 5, and 6 years).
  • A strong indicator of dropouts is whether they completed 9 or less credits by freshman year or not.
  • A moderate indicator of whether they’d drop out is if they got a level 1 in math in 8th grade, and if they were designated ELLs on or after 7th grade.

- Better schools usually had three (rather obvious) indicators

  • High academic expectations
  • Good communication
  • Safety and respect

- Noguera and others mentioned that this study “is not about gotcha, but trying to solve problems.” He was quick to mention that there were lots of factors that had high correlations, including living in housing projects, going to larger high schools, and poverty rates of neighborhoods.

- Noguera then gave some policy considerations for the principals, administrators, and educational think-tankers in the room

  • Carefully consider the potential implications of the phasing out of the local diploma (in favor of a Regents diploma) for the most vulnerale and poorly served students
  • Implement strategies that are shown to be responsive to vulnerable student populations
  • Develop stronger and broader array of resources for supporting student in areas where levels of need are most critical
  • There’s no recipe for success, but traits, so every school needs to decide how they run a successful school
  • There’s a school that already starts counseling by the 3rd grade. In other words, “proactive mentoring works! We’re not going to wait ’til middle school.”
  • The system should target support to chronically under-performing schools (there was a concern here that simply closing down schools wasn’t enough)
  • The splitting of schools can be detrimental since “sometimes in the same school, you’ll have some kids who get sponsored with laptops in the same place with kids that don’t.”
  • Expose teachers and administrators to practices used by more successful schools
  • There is a relationship between kids who have a certain number of infractions against them and how many times they go to school. (We need to be careful about how punitive our system is if we’re trying to have students go to school)
  • Lastly, we should have model schools that people can go to to learn more.

There is a second half to this blog entry including panelists like Merryl Tisch, Santiago Taveras, Roger Blissett, David Banks, and Juan Mendez. These ladies and gentlemen made some great points concerning racism, running effective schools, and having an activist approach to running schools. Stay tuned.

Mr. Vilson, who has had these privileges left and right …

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Industry Rule #4082: Rule #4080 Applies to Education, Too

by Jose on August 31, 2009 · 4 comments

in life

I wonder how inactive and paralyzing it is to the school system when, superficially, we exude some form of pleasantry and quietness that many may mistake for some sort of sterility, at least on the part of the relationships within the building. For those who’ve had any experience within a school, I’m here to quasi-report that not only is there far too much gossip in schools, but that even what some consider honesty is just another form of sullying someone, and that’s far from cool. Too many adults in our school system act like children when it comes to this, in an environment where we often discourage the gossip. It’s one thing if you’re just openly reflecting on an incident and it’s not a private issue, or if you’re talking about an situation in terms of the idea and not the person, and quite another to straight up pass untruths or fabrications, knowing you may not say it to the person’s face if confronted by what you’ve heard.

Personally, I’ve come across it. I barely stepped into my “lateral move” without saying so much as a word and the gossip and disdain overflooded. I’m not going to let any of it affect my positive attitude nor will I let it discourage me from doing what’s best for my particular students. I’d prefer to be focused on helping the students instead of acting too much like them.

Jose, who credits A Tribe Called Quest for the re-interpolation of my blog title …

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The Sounds of Quisqueya Call Me Right Back

by Jose on May 19, 2009 · 17 comments

in life

Jose In The Dark

Jose In The Dark

Today, Raquel Cepeda linked me to a post about Dominican-Haitian relations that she wrote on her blog, and for those of you who know me, you know I had to jump on that quickly. Most of you know my story already: Dominican mom, Haitian father, grew up conflicted about my identity and how people sought to mold it for me through their often contradictory actions, and eventually, I found my way to an odd but pleasant understanding of how my identity will work for me. It’s a gross summarization / oversimplification of the events that led to the man you see before you.

And even still, I have so many unresolved issues with my “mix” that I almost feel like I’m going to have to write those answers into the history books myself. For instance, why do Dominicans celebrate their independence from Haiti but not from Spanish / French rule? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to celebrate it from those powerful empires and not a neighboring country that helped them become independent in the first place? Of course, the answers to these questions partly lie in one of the most reviled men of Dominican-American history, Rafael Trujillo, who ruled absolutely, almost like a now and forever king, except much more evil.

The ideas he helped instill (and ideas that many Dominicans were readily willing to accept) made way for people who’ve lived on the same island for centuries, have similar skin tones, foods, music, and DNA mixes to look at each other as completely different. It’s the reason why, when people look at my face, hear my talk, see my fluidity in culture, they’re puzzled and fight that feeling by stigmatizing my being. As a young man trying to understand everything around me, memorable quotes such as “Your lips are so big; you gotta be Black” and “How can you dance? You’re not Dominican.” or even “Man, this is the way we eat food here; you weren’t raised Haitian, so how can you be?”

I couldn’t reply in Creole. I couldn’t tell them about zouk and kompa, or that Quisqueya was the term that we both used to talk about our country. I couldn’t jump into a conversation because I hadn’t developed the ability to interpret conversation based on facial expressions. I couldn’t tell how hard it was to make peace with my stepfather’s ignorance about Haitians and how I felt so unwanted by my mother’s family because I came from a Haitian. I could barely speak Spanish either, except from what I taught myself to read and write. I couldn’t tell them to stop laughing at me for not knowing the word for tooth, or that I’d been to Dominican Republic more times than them.

Because I wasn’t Dominican or Haitian, even though I was clearly both.

But something funny happened along the way. Amidst the prejudice and pride, I used that disposition to assert myself as a whole everything. I am a whole Dominican and a whole Haitian, despite anything telling my observers the contrary. I will dance, I will eat, I will hear, I will speak. Not that I need to always prove people wrong, but icing is a really tasty part of the biscocho. I researched more than most of you care to hear, and got familiar with topics important to both countries.

And the crux of this discovery came from the sounds of Quisqueya itself. Wilfredo Vargas, a Dominican merengue artist best known for “El Perrito (the dog)” dance, had a string of hits in the 70s such as “El Jardinero,” “Cafe Con Leche,” and “La Medicina,” all very country-sounding merengues and all excellently written. In 2002-2004, I’d have these songs on rotation alongside my other musical obsessions of the day because my Dominican family played this during gatherings and parties. In 2008, while hanging with my Haitian family in Miami, I heard a song blair out of my cousin’s speakers. Oh snap. It was the same exact riff from “La Medicina.” All the melodies were there, and even the background singers sang the way “La Medicina” had them.

As Junot Diaz wrote in his meritorious book The Brief Wondrous of Oscar Wao, in one way or another, the island of Quisqueya always has a way of calling back its diaspora. In one way or another.

Jose, who solemny swears by his truths …

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Mr. Boombastic (or A Profile on Santiago)

by Jose on December 10, 2008 · 4 comments

in life

Santiago Coors Ad

Santiago Coors Ad

My first interaction with Santiago’s artwork came on MySpace, the social network where rock stars, porn stars, wannabe musicians and groupies, and the rest of us converge under one buggy but rather influential hub for the most random of reasons. There, someone had a pretty interesting profile picture. It had a lady with headphones, with striking red and oranges. Naturally, my curiosity led to me to click on this profile. Instantly, I was introduced to Santiago.

Bombastic. Unforgiving. Boisterous.

In person, he is none of these. He’s entirely unassuming in his paperboy cap, rough goatee, an everyday man. Yet, once people look at the art, they have a deep understanding of the workings of his mind, and becomes everything I’ve described. He often refers to himself as a “vessel for the art,” as if his Illustrator skills come from some other divine being rather than from the soft-spoken man who points, clicks, and creates unique perspectives of what he envisions the world as, as if the subject becomes a multicolored hotspot of energy. While others learned their craft strictly to emulate their favorite artists’ style, Santiago’s images often strive to surpass his favorite artists, making a mark all his own, and keeping his feet grounded in his Latino roots. From the beautiful and sexual to the cultural and celebratory, he doesn’t seek to just bring life to his subjects, whether imaginary or otherwise. He seeks to promote and propagate his culture through the art, visually describing the vibrancy and pride that so many of us feel for our own people. His portraits range from futuristic and glorifying to risqué and sensual, and whether it’s a personal portrait or an advertisement from a major company, he challenges the viewer to forget their perceptions of his Expressionist Impressionism and just enjoy it for the exuberance and artistry. And it emanates from Santiago.

I never write about artists, but for all the friends he has in the virtual world, the outside world has yet to fully understand his genius.

To check out his cool stuff, feel free to go to http://www.riceandbeanz.net/.

Santiago

Santiago

Jose, who’s wants to be a connoisseur of avant-garde art …

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A-Rod Can Haz Dominican Culture Now?

by Jose on December 8, 2008 · 7 comments

in life

Alex Rodriguez's Pledge of Allegiance

Alex Rodriguez

Back in July of 2005, the World Baseball Classic committees were just getting their international rosters, and most people stuck to their countries of origin, as stipulated by the rules. With 16 teams in the competition, many of us baseball fans almost salivated to the chin being able to watch these all-stars playing on the same teams. Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, and Ken Griffey Jr. all on the same squad? Jose Reyes, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols in one line-up?

Whoa.

And Alex Rodriguez, arguably the best all-around player in baseball, has the choice of playing for either of these teams.

And he chose the Dominican Republic. No harm, no foul.

Yet, what ensued afterwards was a backlash of sorts, including meetings I’m sure very few of us were privy to, and he went from being 100% sure he’d play for the Dominican Republic to not playing for any team whatsoever to eventually playing for the US team. It’s bad enough his reputation as an asshole who wants to please everyone just wouldn’t go away. Now, he’s back to dealing with identity politics that are, in many ways, out of his control. As some people may know, both of his parents are Dominican and he has dual citizenship in both Dominican Republic and the United States, where he’s lived most of his life. He went from living in Washington Heights in NYC to Florida, where his only father figures were his baseball coaches growing up, but his mom still instilled in him some cultural pride, though not ostensibly.

Anyone who considers themselves multi-ethnic or has done a little studying on multi-ethnic people understand that, despite our allegiance to our ancestors’ countries, we also contribute to the American culture and when we go back to those countries of origin, we are usually considered Americans. Even with an accent as heavy as Alex’s, he’s probably looked at as American, at least subconsciously. But that’s the struggle for Alex: forces from the people who pay him his hundreds of millions, including sponsors and players’ unions, and others like his family who he seems to treasure and the 20-some-odd years he wasn’t an American icon, but a Dominican playing America’s favorite pastime.

Yet, on Saturday, December 6th, 2008, and at the behest of David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez did what he should have done back in 2005. He signed on to play for the Dominican Republic.

Now, the response is completely different. Many Dominicans are lauding the move, calling it “authentic” and “true to what he really is.” Yet, Americans, who were indifferent back in 2005 when he first made the decision to play for the Dominican Republic, now have a growing resentment about this move, calling him “Benedict A-Rod” among other things. And to all of them, I say …

GET OVER YOURSELVES!!!

I can’t believe the gall of anyone who so much as whispers Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez’ name and can say he’s not Dominican with a straight face. So what if he was born here? Does that completely strip him of any culture that’s instilled in him? Does that make him any less of a man because he is Dominican? Why do people criticize him for making this move? Is it because he was an American-born Dominican rather than a Dominican boy some scout made a lot of lavish promises to and kept in a perpetual farm system? Is it his blond streaks, extra-marital affairs, and rumors with Madonna and maybe some other models here and there? Is it because he’s living the American Dream that so many of you advertise so flauntingly to the rest of the world? Is it because you just need any excuse to berate and denigrate A-Rod, whose name someone shrunk just so they could Americanize it?

And believe me, even as a New York Yankees fan, I get it: he comes off as an arrogant, selfish, rich, undeserving, flip-flopping, callous asshole. I personally don’t see it that way, but I understand where it comes from. But none of this, and I mean NONE of this, gives anyone any right to tell that man whether he gets to be Dominican or celebrate his Dominican culture, and anyone who’s a real fan of the man shouldn’t judge him. Even if you don’t like him as a player, respect his right to his own cultures.

Both of them.

And when he comes to play in the New Yankee Stadium in March of 2009, he’ll be pledging to the American flag right along with everyone else in there.

Jose, who will be waving any one of 2 flags during the WBC, since Haiti doesn’t have a baseball team like that …

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That Damn Etiquette

by Jose on May 14, 2008 · 10 comments

in life

When I read about the recent arrest of the infamous “Soulja Girl” (synopsis: she harassed an old lady on Atlanta’s metro train system, and the video got viral. for more info, watch here), I applauded. No really, I applauded all by myself in front of my computer. This was a situation that shows, really, the degradation of our youth. That huge sense of entitlement and unharnessed lawlessness really gets on my nerves with these kids. Whether it’s at the movie theatre or my schools, many of our youth have become more superficial, less integral, more belligerent, and more careless with themselves, more than anything.

While it’s easy to point at the parents, I’m of the belief that the village raises the child. When communities as a whole set a standard for how their neighborhoods like, for what their children should know, and how their offspring should behave in any given environment, I strongly believe that translates into higher success for the communities in general. There are clear examples of that in many communities of different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, but the poorer ones rarely get highlighted. I also believe that there are neighborhoods that don’t have the social, fiscal, and/or experiential tools necessary to make that happen, but even the little things make a huge difference.

For example, at the movie theatre, I proposed to my girlfriend and partner-in-movie-watching that maybe theaters should establish a “code of conduct” at the movies. After the last few debacles at the movies, teenagers screaming curses at the screen for no apparent reason, others playfighting at the front of the movie screen, and others still hushing the people who were trying to quiet them down, I honestly wanted to dropkick at least a few of these teens for ruining these movies. Yes, they have as much right as I do to be there because they paid their 12$ like I did, but there’s an understanding that we’re all going to be quiet while the movie’s playing unless it implicitly elicits a crowd reaction, such as laughter, crying, or the occasional scream.

“Fuck that shit” is not an appropriate reaction (unless it’s Cloverfield, then go right ahead). Yet, when the movie theatre does not have appropriate consequences for dealing with people who interfere with the crowd’s movie-viewing experience, then they’re allowed to do as they please. They’ll make fart noises all throughout, get on their cell phone during the movie, or just find little ways to annoy you, thus leaving the chastising up to the patrons who are just there to enjoy a movie.

But Jose, this is coming from someone who’s a bit of a rebel rouser.

Yes, but I also understand the power of timing and purpose. Interrupting people’s subway ride because you want to scream some nonsense or act like you’re Mary J, but can’t even hit one of her lower notes is not conducive to anyone’s argument for the improvement of the proletariat’s condition. If you’re at the Kanye concert dancing to” Gold Digger” but you’re trying to sit on the stairs of a lower section than the ones you bought (and you’re the same chicks I catch at the club who never come with cash but an open hand), then you’re not really helping the situation out either. Retro Kids and hipsters crawling my stomping grounds making a whole lot of noise about the latest small-and-subpar hangout spot also make me sick. These group of people often make the noise I’m not trying to hear.

Then, I check that Soulja Girl video again, and she’s emblematic of the hip-hop movement these days in general: style without substance. At first glance, she’s reminiscent of how the young hip-hop kids would rebel against their elders through the use of music, and bucking the older generations’ culture and standards in favor of new trends and a sense of independence. Of course, that prose comes crashing down when you watch it again, and she probably doesn’t think about these implications as much as us philosophers, too. She’s probably just as annoying and trifling as she seems. And her mother said that she “didn’t take her meds that day.”

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. That excuse lacks substance for me, too.

jose, who definitely wrote a thinly-guised educational post here …

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Gentrifuckation (part 1)

by Jose on February 20, 2008 · 17 comments

in Uncategorized

Every morning, this is what my walk to the train station looks like:

Skyline

That thing I circled is The Ludlow. At first, it doesn’t look too obstructive …

The Ludlow Blocks Sunlight

Then, as I start to walk down Houston St., I realize how much it blocks my damn sunlight, the energy I feed off of every morning. It casts this huge and ominous shadow over the street; if the sun even came out that day, people might not know. Whenever I inquire about a price from my fellow LESers, they give me the big eyeroll and a deep breathe. And it’s only getting worse.

As if you didn’t know my stance on the deterioration of the Lower East Side, my neighborhood for more than a quarter-century now, I’m absolutely infuriated with the amount of gentrification that’s swept our neighborhood. When Emperor Guiliani presided over NYC and rid the city of much of NYC’s charm and character in favor of condominiums and Walt Disney, many of us wondered what the hell would happen to us. I first noticed the change when this building came up.

Red Square

I was too young to understand that, as modest as this structure and its accompanying stores were, it would be the precursor for the raising of the rent and the razing of too many structures I’m familiar with. The clocks on top of the Red Square tell the right time if you strictly look at the hands, but the numbers are all switched around, meaning that the LES was now on their time and not ours.

A decade later, 1/2 of the shops, buildings, and people I used to know in this area have either evaporated or gone elsewhere, replaced with boutiques, wine shops, art and architecture showcases, and bars. An overabundance really. There’s nothing wrong with a little renovation. I’m all for getting a little more money into a neighborhood and a little less crime, but let’s look at a case study:

Two Buildings

Building A is a brand new building. Building B’s probably been around since this was a primary Jewish neighborhood. Now, because of Building A, building B can raise its rent. And because of building B, residents of building A can say they live in better conditions, even though they live right next to each other, have to shop at the same groceries, and have the same inglorious view of the changes happening in this neighborhood.

Now, some of these shops changed completely, but others found it cute to basically keep the name of the old establishment just to look semi-authentic. (Click for larger image)

Arlene’s GroceryAlias Restaurant

And whenever gentrification wants to leave its signature, it turns to the boys from Seattle:

Starbucks

Some of my critics who believe that life shouldn’t be fair and blame the victim whenever they get the chance, would probably now say, “But Jose, can’t a community grow? Why does everything have to be negative? Gentrification brings jobs, it cleans up neighborhoods, brings in people, and strengthens the community.” In some ways, they might be right. I don’t have to go very far to have fun. There’s a nice diner here that I can take my friends to, and people look at me in awe whenever I tell them I was born and raised here, a confidence booster for sure.

Yet my response stays the same: what happens to the people who’ve been working here for decades now? Why is it always appropriate for the more affluent to invade a poor person’s space and push out the inhabitants for their own gain while the poor are always ostracized when we make inroads in their communities? Why does redlining and HUD exist if this is a free society and all men are created equal? Will they have us live like on the East River when it’s all said and done?

Chinese Junk

I’m not sure, but the following structure is a hint. Look at it. It’s ugly. Really.

Blue Condo of Death NYC

Need another angle?

Blue Condo of Death NYC 2

Wait, if I look at it clearly, I think I see something …

Blue Condo of Death NYC Fist

A FIST! And there you have it. Symbolic of the struggles of the people, the fist now represents the urban developers’ forceful raping of the delicate culture Loisaida has cultivated over the last few decades. Before Time Out New York had the nerve to advertise “The Lower East Side Is Back” on their covers, people lived here. Before the NYPost and other newspapers had the nerve to mistake where Chico painted the Nixzmary Brown and 2Pac murals, the Lower East Side was here. Before the Nuyorican Poets Cafe had lines full of people trying to act like they understand the art of Pedro Pietri and mimicking each other just to look deep / cute, Pedro Pietri himself gave the people anthems to get by on those open mic nights. Before these yuppies, hipsters, posers, and wannabes giggled and vomited their way through all our neighborhoods, the Lower East Side was cool.

Nixzmary Brown Mural by Chico

2Pac Mural by Chico

Odyssey, the disco band, once sang of native New Yorkers, but those come sparse like the American bald eagle and Babe Ruth rookie cards, and just as valuable. Because we still preserve the secrets, the ups and downs, the grit, and the soul that once made the Lower East Side, and hence NYC, what it was, and what people come here for. I’m not sure, but my LES is officially on its death bed, and we are the eulogizers and pallbearers of that tradition.

jose, l.e.s. for life …

p.s. – I know I linked this a couple of posts ago, but I’ll get into it a little bit later on.

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Truth Said In Jest

by Jose on February 19, 2008 · 7 comments

in Uncategorized

Avenue Q


Things to Keep In Mind When Attending a Movie / Play:1. Please turn off your cell phone when you come in the theater. I mean, as soon as. Especially if you know you have one of those annoying ringtones of some random celebrity telling you to pick up the phone. Morons who violate will tempt this young man to dropkick your piece of technological annoyance.

2. Shut up. I mean, really, shut up. It’d be one thing if you’re supposed to interact with the film, but this is not Blue’s Clues; it’s Definitely, Maybe, and I don’t need you to tell the whole movie theatre how corny a romantic comedy is! The absolute gall! The audacity! Go home now, ladies! The Knicks are only a couple of blocks away; you can make all the noise you want over there.

3. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. If you can’t, then you skipped 1st grade. Please take a refresher course. When I’m watching a musical like Avenue Q, I don’t need you spreading your disgusting viruses all over the back of my head and neck, you leprous sore. I never had to take a shower so badly after that.

Speaking of which, my girl and I saw Avenue Q, a great musical using Jim Henson-type puppets. I hear it’s popular, and even won a Tony. The premise of the whole musical is that … well, people may not necessarily have a purpose, even with all the college degrees and jobs we accumulate. We all have some redeeming qualities that will somehow lead us to a happy ending. Overall, I found it fun and well put-together. At some point, we all forgot that there were humans actually controlling the puppets and doing their voices.

One part of the musical that bothered the both of us to some extent was the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.” I knew they were going to be raunchy, and offensive, so I didn’t mind the humor much. But my girl kinda stayed silent while the rest of the predominantly White crowd (and I) laughed, especially when one of the actors quipped “Mexican busboys should learn to speak English!”

She wondered, “Are all these people laughing because they’re uncomfortable, or because they really hold these views about us? Some of the people in the audience, you can tell, really believe what they were saying.”

I laughed a little, because the leper behind me, with his venomous racket in back of me, definitely believed it, laughing so hard, he might have come all over himself. I suspect that others at the show, though, might not necessarily be racists, but products of racial prejudice, and thus act out in ways they might not even be conscious of. For instance, you ever notice how many people take everything Dave Chappelle says seriously and ignore everything Cornell West says? Yes, it’s two different ways of delivering the same message, but they’re both critical of the establishment in their own ways. Many people don’t know how to handle issues except if there’s that giveback of entertainment. “Yes, I’ll talk about how prejudice I am, but only if you promise to make me laugh or at least attempt to.”

Maybe that’s the point of the song, anyways. They wanted to show people just how racist they could be, and prove it by making them laugh at racist ideas. And what’s worse is that, during the jokes, I laughed at the apparent racism, from the Gary Coleman shtick to Christmas Eve (your average Asian-American lady stereotype). Not because I believed them, but because when people make such egregiously ignorant comments like the one above, I can’t help but laugh. Kinda like watching the Faux News Network.

what do you think?

jose, who will definitely write tomorrow to make up for my missing Monday …

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Ewing and I

by Jose on January 31, 2008 · 4 comments

in Uncategorized

Patrick Ewing, Arms Stretched Out

An idol.The biggest of superstars.

A warrior and a man all the same.

That sweet fade-away.

The sweat-drenched NY Knicks jersey, emblazoned with the number 33 in the back.

The custom sneakers.

The Georgetown alum with 2 gold medals, part of the historic Dream Team, 11-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year from 1985-86, sure Hall of Famer, and part of the NBA 50th anniversary’s All-Time Team.

The man who carried the most prominent franchise in one of the grandest stages in the world for over a decade.

No NBA championship rings. Thus, less respect.

Patrick Ewing is probably my favorite player from any sport ever. He symbolized everything the Knicks and NYC were for a decade and a 1/2. My thoughts turned to him after watching how he’s helped Dwight Howard develop into the monster MVP candidate he is. A little greyer and bereft of that signature flat-top with the notch in his hair, and a few pounds overweight, he still had that smile that reminded me why I became a Knicks fan to begin with. At the very least, you knew each night, he’d get up into that court and play his hardest. He helped instill that gritty, hard-nosed, defiant, me-against-the-world mentality many of us had laced into our DNA since child birth. Even in defeat, Knicks fans always felt we would have another run at another great season, and another championship run.

Yet, there are those who believe we shouldn’t be attached to celebrities and sports figures, asserting we don’t need to follow these idols. In many ways, I agree. Does Patrick Ewing care whether or not I follow him or not? Probably not. I still remember times when he would end up on the back pages of the Post (ugh!), the Times, or the Daily News, heckled on his own home floor mercilessly for his reactions to the lack of fan support. While he’s out drinking his high-priced alcohol in a big house with his plethora of stats and awards, I’m somewhere in an apartment writing about how much I love him as a sports figure.
That might be the reason why we idolize them in the first place. Kids from my neighborhood look at these Black and Latino men living their dreams out for millions to see and envision themselves doing likewise. Sports and other competitions for that matter are emblematic of the struggles the common man and woman face in real life. How interesting is it that we latch ourselves onto sports teams and players in the hopes that even as superficial and capitalist these victories seem, we too feel like we won or lost depending on the outcomes. Some of us hook ourselves onto these figures so much that they become part of our lives. Their struggles become ours. Their hardships become ours.

Even without the multimillion dollar price tag strung on these players’ ankles, we still see a little of ourselves in the players we witness so much. That’s why I write about Alex Rodriguez and expectations leveled on him, Patrick Ewing and his greatness contrasted with his shortcomings, or even The Rock’s ability to carry such braggadocio and still be considered the “People’s Champion.”

We can even extend that to the celebrities of today, from Denzel’s refined passion to Morgan Freeman’s mature wisdom. Even the recent death of Heath Ledger reminds people of the shortcomings and tragedies of a bright present and a brighter future. And I hate to say this, but I suspect that people follow Britney Spears as much to see whether she’ll get out of her misery than to witness her downfall. We cheer as much for comebacks as we do the underdog. We oscillate in adulation. People took 7-8 years to realize that Al Gore was the best choice for President (out of the 2-party system we have now), but people hated him for the same reasons they love him now, only he had 7 years to prove to everyone he was right.

The figures that certain populations decide to prop up are accurate representations of the ideas and feelings that society has about themselves. If we look at New York City in 1977, we can sum up NYC’s population with three people: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, and Billy Martin. Reggie represented Blacks’ and Latinos’ dreams of upward mobility (for more, see The Jeffersons circa 1975 – 1985). George Steinbrenner represented the cantankerous bosses NYC became renown for. And Billy Martin represented the working class people in NYC, struggling to keep their jobs in a recessive job market.

Patrick Ewing, thus, represented so much of what I grew up knowing about NYC, but more importantly about myself. I grew emotionally attached to his victories and losses as a kid, and haven’t been quite as passionate about anyone outside my home or classroom in ages. I can still remember how shocked I was to see him traded to the Seattle Sonics, and subsequently came back to beat the Knicks with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but time had already taken a toll on his weak knees and other joints. His run down the court was then a lumpy jog in some stranger’s uni.

While I watch my Knicks go through this miserable stretch, I wonder how they lost that edge that made the rest of the league hate the Knicks and make us love them. The Knicks these days have a few scrappy players (Lee, Balkman, Robinson, Crawford), but in general suit up sleep-inducing and lackluster players who, leadership included, have no common mission. They really look like they’d prefer to be at home than actually representing NYC’s grand basketball history properly. It’s like watching million dollar zombies out there. Then I look at the city the team is now, and I see the same can be said for many of the people who inhabit it now.

Fuck that. Bring back Patrick. Kneepads, missed finger rolls and all. I’d rather be a contender and lose than to have never had the chance.

jose, gave away his authentic Patrick Ewing jersey to my younger cousin after he got too big to fit in it, but definitely has the 15th anniversary Team USA Ewing jersey ready for all occasions …

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After Notes from the AfroLatino Immigration Discussion

by Jose on October 14, 2007 · 18 comments

in life

Arturo Alfonso ShomburgYesterday afternoon, I attended a panel discussion entitled “Black, Latino, Both” sponsored by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (of which I am now a card carrying member) and el Museo del Barrio, and it took place at Harlem’s Schomburg Center. The panel featured Howard Jordan, Clarence Lusane, Yvette Modestin, Angela Perez, and Silvio Torres-Saillant, who I know from my Syracuse days. While I’m not inclined to discuss exactly who said what, I do have some notes I’d like to share on a rather excellent panel meeting. I’ll definitely have to go over some of these topics again during the week, but for now, these are only some of the great sub-discussions we had at the panel. (I’m trying to take a 2-hour discussion about a topic spanning 500 years into a few paragraphs. Fun.)

- Anyone who’s read my blog for a while or even took a look at my name can pretty much gather what my identity is. Yet, that’s a challenge if you’re simply taking me at face value. Honestly, people don’t know how to act when I reveal my ethnic make-up, and that works two ways: I have an identity I’ve self-developed and people have their own perceptions of what I am. Those are not mutually exclusive of each other. To the contrary, that’s the essence of understanding the race logic: race isn’t about what you see, it’s about what you think you see. And I’ll never be “Black” or “Latino” enough until people really understand what those terms truly mean.

- Arturo Schomburg. Carlos Cooks. Felipe Luciano. Men who most people would associate with either Black or Latino, but in actuality, were Black Latinos like myself. I only knew of Felipe back in freshman year of college when I first got to meet him, and the rest of them I didn’t find out until yesterday. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when both communities fail to address AfroLatinos. The names of so many other AfroLatinos who fought for their communities were obscured by their own people, and that’s unfortunate. I know a Black Latino college student-activist back in the day who could have used those role models for community activism.

- People within a certain race are not a monolith. Definitions of what it means to be part of a race change vastly depending on place and time. For instance, Jews and Italians weren’t even considered to be White until decades after coming into this country. In the same way, Blacks and Latinos don’t just have one ideology, one perspective, or one religion. There are certain trends and connections amongst many of these groups, but we don’t all have the same interests at heart, either.

Felipe Luciano- A crucial point of discussion was the evolution of the ethnic make-up of baseball players. For the last decade or two, baseball has become an increasingly Latino sport, though it’s still marketed America’s favorite pastime. Gary Sheffield once said that, despite Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby’s efforts, there are more Latin players than Black players in baseball now because Latin players are easier to control. He elaborated by saying Latino players will get sent back to their countries if they don’t comply, so they have much more to lose. Of course, I agreed with the premise of the argument, as did many of his Latino teammates (those of whom already have their citizenships and paid the Republican Party some dues).

- In connection to that point, there was also a mention of Sammy Sosa, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez, men who in this country, most would identify as Black men, but when asked, they identify as Dominicans … strictly. While some people may take issue with their identification, I completely understand what these players are talking about. If you’re coming from a completely different racial paradigm than the country you’re visiting, then of course you’re going to strictly identify with your nation. As someone mentioned on the panel, it’s really easy for someone who identifies as a certain group to tell someone else what their race is, without even knowing where that person’s coming from. And that’s not always a good thing.

- Then there’s the issue of immigration, and how it relates to the American workforce. Vicente Fox once sad that Mexicans will take the jobs that Blacks don’t in this country. This is with the premise that either Blacks are lazy, incompetent, or acting too good for a broom and mop. The point disturbed me for a multitude of reasons. The government instills policies for migrant workers that makes them into nothing but rotating slaves. Corporations never have to worry about minimum wage, health benefits, pensions, or anything of that nature for workers who don’t have any rights in this country. Plus, the very people bringing those migrant workers here have agents working to tell working class communities here that immigrants from all around the world are here to take their jobs, so of course on the surface, it’s easy to diminish migrant workers as sub-human.

- Lastly, the one solution for many of our social ills is not through developing some sort of hegemony. Rather, change will come from a multicultural group of concerned citizens. I try to build those coalitions wherever I go, and the results have usually been nothing but positive.

jose, who loves to hear everyone’s opinions on these topics, not just my black or latino brethren …

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